I hope this series has been helpful to you. I would encourage you to pick up John’s book and read it all they way through and then I would love to hear your thoughts and what you will use with your team.

So, Here are Laws of Teamwork 15, 16, and 17.

1. The Law of The Edge

The Difference Between Two Equally Talented Teams Is Leadership.

What is the key to success? Is it talent? Hard work? Technology? Efficiency? To be successful, a team needs all of these things, but it still needs something more. It needs leadership.

• Personnel determines the potential of the team. • Vision determines the direction of the team. • Work ethic determines the preparation of the team. • Leadership determines the success of the team.

Everything rises and falls on leadership. If a team has great leadership, then it can gain everything else it needs to go to the highest level.

The difference between two equally talented teams is leadership. Look at any great team that has achieved great success and you will find it has strong leadership.

Once you have added value to yourself, you will be able to add value to—and influence—others to help your team.

If you are the leader of your team, the best thing you can do for your teammates is to add other leaders to the team.

2. The Law Of High Morale

When You’re Winning, Nothing Hurts

Really high morale helps the team to perform at its best. High morale can be a crucial difference maker. When a team has high morale, it doesn’t just have to deal with whatever circumstances get thrown at it. It creates its own circumstances.

• The fund-raiser knows that under the right circumstances, people love to give. • The teacher knows that under the right circumstances, students love to grow. • The leader knows that under the right circumstances, people love to follow. • The coach knows that under the right circumstances, players are able to win.

High morale is one of the essentials to creating the right circumstances for any team to perform at the highest level.

High Morale magnifies everything positive that is happening for your team

1. High Morale Is the Great Exaggerator.2. High Morale Is the Great Elevator.3. High Morale Is the Great Energizer.4. High Morale Is the Great Eliminator.5. High Morale Is the Great Emancipator.

John writes about the Four Stages of Morale.

Stage 1: Post Morale – The Leader Must Do Everything.
Stage 2: Low Morale – The Leader Must Do Productive Things
Stage 3: Moderate Morale – The Leader Must Do Difficult Things
Stage 4: High Morale – The Leader Must Do Little Things

If you want to reap the rewards of the Law of High Morale, you can’t wait until your morale is high to begin performing. You need to act your way into feeling, not feel your way into acting.

Begin by performing at a level of excellence appropriate for someone who is experiencing a winning season. Your dedication and enthusiasm will help your performance—and will inspire some of your teammates.

If you are a leader on your team, then you need to figure out what kind of morale your team is currently experiencing:

• Poor morale: The team is dead in the water and negative. • Low morale: The team is making some progress, but it is not cohesive and confident. • Moderate morale: The team is experiencing some wins and beginning to believe in itself, but some hard decisions need to be made to take it to the next level. • High morale: The team is performing close to its potential, it’s winning, and it just needs to be kept on track.

Once you’ve determined the stage of your team, then apply the guidelines in the chapter so that you can take the team (or your area of it) to the next stage.

3. The Law Of Dividends

Investing in the Team compounds Over Time.

In his book, John Maxwell talks about How To Invest In Your Team:

1. Make the Decision to Build a Team…This Starts the Investment in the Team.2. Gather the Best Team Possible…This Elevates the Potential of the Team.3. Pay The Price to Develop the Team…This Ensures the Growth of the Team.4. Do Things Together as a Team…This Provides Community for the Team.5. Empower Team Members with Responsibility and Authority…This Raises Up Leaders for the Team.6. Give Credit for Success to the Team…This Lifts the Morale of the Team.7. Watch to See That the Investment in the Team Is Paying Off…This Brings Accountability to the Team.8. Stop Your Investment in Players Who Do Not Grow…This Eliminates Greater Losses for the Team.9. Create New Opportunities for the Team…This Allows the Team to Stretch.10. Give the Team the Best Possible Chance to Succeed..This Guarantees the Team a High Return.

Are you giving a good return for what your teammates are investing in you? Think about the opportunities you have received and the positive learning experiences to which you’ve been exposed.

Have you seized all of them enthusiastically, or have you allowed many of them to slip by? If you’ve been lackadaisical about pursuing growth opportunities, then change your attitude today.

Grow all you can, and determine to give the team a good return on its investment in you.

As a leader, you, more than anyone else, determine the environment of your organization and whether your people are investing in others.

Begin by institutionalizing investment and making it a part of your organization’s culture. Encourage growth. Set aside time and money for investment in the team.

And take on the responsibility for investing in your core leaders. The more leaders you have on the team and the further developed they are, the greater the dividends.

This ends the 8 part series on Team Building: Laws of Teamwork by John Maxwell. I hope you have got some value out of this and will take the time to read and implement these laws in your team.

I would encourage you to read more John C Maxwell Books on leadership and team building.

4 Comments

Great. I used to be in the paramilitary and we would use songs to raise the morale of the squad. I understand how high morales can greatly enhance the level of productivity, especially when working together as a team!